Simon Kelner has written a comment piece for the Independent today reflecting on the government's aim to establish parity in the treatment of physical and mental illnesses and concluding that there is much more to be done. Following the funeral of his friend Simon Jones this week, he writes:

There was no attempt to hide the truth about Simon and the bipolar affliction that drove him to take his life, with the effect that our personal recollections were mixed with wider, more profound thoughts about the nature of the disease from which he suffered. Could we have done more? Could the state have done more? How do we as a society deal with mental illness?

The NHS seems destined to become a logo, a brand; and indeed at a time when thousands of frontline clinical jobs are being cut, the NHS jobs website has advertised for a £97k "head of brand". In some places, such as Surrey and Devon, private monopoly is already replacing the monopoly of the publicly provided NHS: charities and social enterprises stand little chance when tendering against companies like Serco and Virgin, with their expertise in winning public-service contracts.

New providers are likely to make profits by changing the working conditions of staff and cutting back on services. Commercial confidentiality means public accountability will become a thing of the past. The new financial arrangements, with their potential conflicts of interest, threaten the relationship of trust between GPs and patients that lies at the heart of primary care. Surveys show the public don't approve of the new ethos, either, and that they don't benefit when competition replaces collaboration and when illness is a commodity to be traded.

I know what it's like to try to speak out against anti-choice hegemony in Ireland. I know how hard it is to even form pro-choice opinions at all. Like 95% of people schooled in Ireland, I had a Catholic education and was heavily propagandised against abortion. More, I had to navigate the biased information offered by the Irish press. RTÉ, our national broadcaster, did not even report on a 2,000-strong pro-choice march in Dublin earlier this year, while it continues to cover anti-abortion movements in the provinces. Teachers and journalists, this is your fault too.

Stephen Dorrell also commented that the health and wellbeing boards will be well placed to oversee and ensure the integration of services. He said it had previously been a "mistake to divorce the health service from the local political community".

Liz Kendall said "we need to be bolder" in approaching change, and she called the NHS mandate "unambitious". She said a key driver of change was staff being aware of their own performance which encourages competition with colleagues.

Paul Burstow talked about the importance of wellbeing and preventing illness. On funding care, he said: "Dilnot offers a rational response to the future", however he said the treasury was an "institutional obstacle".

Next up was Stephen Dorrell who said:

"If the system doesn't change in the way that's been advocated for all these years, it will simply run out of money, and in the process of running out of money vulnerable people will get hurt."

He spoke of the importance of"re-imagining what services need to look like". He said the system is a medical system with care support, when it needs to be a care system supported by medicine.

I'm at the launch of the King's Fund's Time to Think Differently programme of work, which aims to stimulate debate about the changes needed for the NHS and social care to meet the challenges of the future.

Addressing the packed room, Chris Ham, chief executive of the King's Fund, who is chairing the event, welcomed the three speakers Stephen Dorrell MP, chair of the health select committee, Paul Burstow MP, former minister of state for care services and Liz Kendall MP, shadow minister for care and older people. He asked them for their reflections on the King's Fund report Transforming the delivery of health and social careThe case for fundamental change and on the challenges ahead.Paul Burstow was first up to speak. He said:

"The report reflects a lot of the thinking that's been around for some time."We can see bits of this system that's being described here being tried, but not put together as a whole."

On the network today, our columnist Richard Vize analyses the new NHS mandate, unveiled this week by the health secretary, Jeremy Hunt. The document, he writes, sets clear objectives, which reflect priorities managers are already pursuing, but fails on one crucial test. He explains:

The mandate fails on one key test – robust support for the need to reconfigure some services to raise quality. It sets out four obvious criteria for service changes, such as public engagement and a clear clinical evidence base, but does not spell out the importance of focusing some services on centres of excellence to raise quality and reduce avoidable deaths – one of the mandate's principle objectives. Yet again a health secretary has not had the courage to provide leadership on this crucial issue, making the work of local commissioners tougher.

Morning headlines

Clare Horton writes

Good morning and welcome to the Guardian healthcare network's daily live blog, bringing you healthcare news, comment and analysis from around the web.

Today we're at the launch of the King's Fund's new project, Time to think differently, which looks at the challenges ahead for health and social care sector. The year-long programme begins with a panel debate this morning, chaired by King's Fund chief executive Chris Ham. Panellists for the debate are Stephen Dorrell, chair of the health select committee, former care services minister Paul Burstow and Liz Kendall, the shadow minister for care and older people.

Before the debate begins, here's a quick run through this morning's healthcare headlines.

If there's a story, report or event you'd like to highlight – or would like to share your thoughts on any of the healthcare issues in the news today – then you can get in touch by leaving a comment below the line or tweeting us at @GdnHealthcare.